Canadian Taxpayers Federation released a report last week warning Manitobans about the province’s increasing debt.

“Billions of taxpayers’ dollars are being wasted on debt interest payments because the government is irresponsibly borrowing too much money,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF prairie director.

“The government needs a plan to find savings and dig Manitoba out of this financial hole.”

The CTF report details how the provincial government has increased the debt since 2016-17.

Key findings of the report include:

• Manitoba government debt has increased by 61 per cent from 2016-17 to 2025-26
• Each Manitoban’s per capita share of the provincial debt is about $24,831
• Debt interest payments have cost taxpayers almost $18 billion since 2016-17
• Debt interest payments represent about 21 per cent of provincial government tax revenues.

The government will waste $2.3 billion on debt interest payments this year. Debt interest payments cost taxpayers more money than all but the two largest government departments.

The government pays more in debt interest payments than it collects in education property taxes, the health and education tax, corporation taxes, fuel taxes and the land transfer tax combined.

“This report should be a wakeup call for the government that Manitobans can’t afford any more debt,” Haubrich said.

“Premier Wab Kinew needs to control spending and work to pay down Manitoba’s increasing debt.”

The Manitoba Debt Report can be found online at www.taxpayer.com.

The Dauphin Primary Care Outreach Clinic is one of four sites within the Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) region welcoming a new nurse practioner.

“I’ve been a nurse for 11 years; the majority of my career was in the outpatient department/ER at the Ste. Rose General Hospital,” said Jolynn Harder, who will practise at the Dauphin Primary Care Outreach Clinic.

“I started the Masters of Nursing-NP program-in 2022 through the University of Manitoba.”

Upon receiving their full designation, Nurse Practitioners work independently, are accountable to their practice and can provide many services, including:

• Completing assessments and physical exams, including pap tests and pre-natal exams.
• Diagnosing and managing common medical issues and chronic conditions.
• Prescribing medications and therapies.
• Ordering diagnostic tests like blood work, x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans and MRIs.
• Performing minor procedures like suturing, biopsies, wart and mole removal; and
• Referring to other health providers, including specialists.

Other communities welcoming new nurse practioners include Rossburn/Shoal Lake, Melita and Canupawakpa First Nation, as well as the Brandon Minor Injury and Illness Clinic.

PMH CEO Treena Slate said recruitment and retention of health-care professionals remains a top priority for the health region and the province, and growing the Grad NP program within the region continues to see great results.

“Along with our health partners and stakeholders, which include our communities, we continue to look for ways to support, recruit and retain health care staff within PMH. By having NPs provide services from base locations across our region, we can maintain the provision of primary care closer to home,” Slate said.

Having four new nurse practioners working in the region is great news for the Westman community, said Uzoma Asagwara, Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care.

“Nurse practitioners are an excellent addition to primary health services and their unique focus on patient and client-centered care makes them essential partners in creating healthier communities.” the minister said.

“We welcome these new recruits and wish them a fulfilling career in health care here in Manitoba.”

Slate added PMH is collaborating with six more NP students who are currently completing the second year of their programs and who are expected to begin working within the health region next fall.

For those looking for a nurse practitioner or family doctor, the Province has a program to help clients find new primary care providers. Visit www.manitoba.ca/familydoctorfinder or call toll-free to 1-866-690-8260, to find out more. PMH NPs work with this program when taking on new patients.

As of November 2025, the region has 31 NPs providing service within 30 PMH communities, 11 of which are First Nation communities.

The Parkland Crisis Centre and Women’s Shelter in Dauphin was among the recipients sharing $750,000 courtesy of the province’s  Criminal Property Forfeiture (CPF) Fund.

A grant of $35,000 was provided to the organization, which provides support services to women and children escaping intimate partner abuse, a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, counselling, child and youth programs, support groups, referrals and advocacy.

“The Parkland Crisis Centre and Women’s Shelter is excited to announce the newly-formed partnership with Victim Services to improve service accessibility within our community,” said Kari Prawdzik, executive director of the Parkland Crisis Centre.

“The shelter is passionate about empowering individuals to break free from the cycles of violence and building healthier futures. Our organization’s goals are to assist in providing life-changing support to those affected by family, intimate partner and gender-based violence.”

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the money  provided last week is meant to support victims and surviving family members of serious crimes, including homicide, sexual assault and intimate partner violence,

“November is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and our government is strengthening its support for victims of intimate partner violence and other serious crimes throughout the province,” Wiebe said.

“Our public safety strategy commits to supporting Manitobans victimized by crime and we are able to help victims and their families rebuild their lives by redirecting the proceeds of criminal activity in Manitoba to valuable community programs.”

The Parkland Crisis Centre and Women’s Shelter and WMWC are receiving CPF victim services grants for the first time, the minister noted.

The CPF Fund distributes proceeds from the sale of seized criminal property to organizations in the province that focus on community safety.

The CPF Fund also includes a funding stream for the Manitoba Justice Victim Services branch, which offers support to all individuals under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. Last year, the province increased the fund to $750,000 from $500,000 in previous years.

Read the full story on this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

A teen offender is facing several firearms charges after being found with a prhibited weapon.

On Nov. 10, Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP received a call with information that an 18-year-old man was observed walking around the community of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi (Crane River First Nation) with a firearm.

Officers respoinded to the residence of the man in question and arrested him without incident after locating a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition in a bag at the rear of the residence.

The investigation also determined the suspect pointed a firearm at several youths in the community.

The teen, from O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi, was charged with possession of a prohibited firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of weapon for  dangerous purposes and pointing a firearm.

The man was released with an order to appear at  a future court date.

Ste. Rose du Lac RCMP continue to investigate.

Dauphin RCMP interrupted two men in the process of  stealing copper building supplies from a house under renovation in the south end of the city, at the end of October.

In the mid morning of Oct. 23, Dauphin RCMP received a report of a break and enter in progress at a vacant residence on Third Avenue Southeast.

Officers responded immediately and noticed the back door was damaged and was a point where someone could have possibly entered the residence.

As police approached the door, movement could be heard inside.

A call out was made for the occupants to exit the residence, but they did not comply.

Officers then observed an unknown man trying to crawl out of a side window. The man was notified he was under arrest and eventually complied after repeated demands from one of the officers.

Another unknown man was then seen crawling out the bottom of the back door carrying a backpack. He was arrested without incident.

During a search of the residence, extensive damage was observed in the basement where large holes in the drywall were evident in numerous places.

Police also seized two hockey bags full of copper wire and piping.

Two men aged 36, and 47 from Dauphin, were charged with breaking and entering.

Dauphin RCMP continue to investigate.

• • •

Late last week, multiple RCMP units joined forces to arrest a prolific offender following a  chase through the woods.

On the morning of Oct. 30, Dauphin RCMP received information that a wanted man was near Keld.

RCMP officers from the Dauphin, Ste. Rose du Lac, and Roblin detachments, as well as the Manitoba West District Crime Reduction Enforcement Team (CREST) and RCMP Police Dog Services all  headed to the area to search for the man.

Following an extensive search, the suspect was observed near a gravel pit and was seen running into a wooded area.

PD Services officers Marook and Skipper, with assistance from a drone, were deployed and began tracking the suspect through difficult terrain, including thick brush and a deep river.

After approximately three hours of searching, 27-year-old Jordy Robertson was located and safely taken into custody.

Roberston, of the RM of Gilbert Plains, faces several charges including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, operation of a motor vehicle while prohibited, flight from a peace officer, resisting or obstructing a peace officer, three counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, mischief over $5,000, and three counts of failing to comply with a probation order.

Robertson was remanded in custody.

Manitoba’s opposition Progressive Conservatives are upset with Premier Wab Kinew and his NDP government for voting against an Opposition Day motion they say would bring labour equality and equity to construction job sites in Manitoba.

The motion would have immediately reversed what Borderland MLA Josh Guenter, PC Critic for Labour, calls the divisive “Manitoba Jobs Agreement,” which favours unionized workers ahead of non-unionized workers.

“This so-called jobs agreement is clearly discriminatory,” Guenter said.

“The policy penalizes non-unionized workers. It needs to be scrapped immediately and replaced with a strategy to ensure that all Manitoba tradespeople can benefit from large government contracts, regardless of their union status.”

Last month, Kinew signed an agreement with a coalition of trade unions to prioritize unionized tradespeople on major public infrastructure projects in Manitoba. Contractors hiring workers for government-funded construction projects valued at $50 million or more are required to hire Manitoba unionized construction workers first, followed by non-unionized Manitobans, followed by Canadian union members, then non-unionized Canadian construction workers.

The Winnipeg Construction Association and the Construction Association of Rural Manitoba, which represent hundreds of construction companies that will be bidding on the government-funded projects, were not consulted in developing the Manitoba Jobs Agreement.

The organizations fear that the agreement will lead to higher construction costs and create a two-tiered system that favours unionized workers over open shop companies.

An estimated 80 per cent of construction workers in Manitoba are not unionized.

“This was a backroom deal between Wab Kinew and his union-boss pals,” Guenter said.

“Discriminating against non-unionized workers will drive those workers out of Manitoba, adding to the shortage of skilled labour. Taxpayers deserve the best possible value for their dollar and all qualified contractors should be able to bid on these contracts, whether they’re unionized or open shop.”

Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) has recruited eight new physicians to the region through the Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates (MLPIMG).

The recruitments were made in collaboration with the Province, Shared Health and community partners. The MLPIMG Program assists foreign-trained doctors in obtaining their medical license to be able to practice as a family physician in Manitoba.

“During the past year, the region sponsored eight physicians to participate in the MLPIMG program” said PMH CEO Treena Slate.

“After much consideration, physicians that successfully graduated from the program were placed at various sites within PMH communities that require additional sufficient physician resources.”

The newly-recruited physicians are Dr. Uche Adediji, Dr. Toyin Oluwatuyi and Dr. Oghenekevwe Ekrebe in Swan River, Dr. Louis Eleche in Neepawa, Dr. Anahita Yousefiadib and Dr. Zoia Khattak in Roblin,  Dr. Sylvia Oranika in Virden and Dr. Rilwan Azeez in Souris.

In return for regional sponsorship, MLPIMG doctors agree to practice in their respective communities for four years.

The placements come on the heels of five MLPIMG physicians placed in the communities of Deloraine, Grandview, Russell, Ste. Rose and Virden in 2024 and six placed in Glenboro, Hamiota, Russell, Swan River and Virden in 2023.

During the next rotation, which is already underway, PMH is sponsoring seven  physicians who commenced their training in June. If successful, they will be able to commence practice in the health region next fall.

Manitoba’s Auditor General, Tyson Shtykalo, released a report late last week examining allegations of wrongdoing involving several of the province’s municipalities, including two in the Parkland.

The report confirmed allegations that a former head of council at the Municipality of Ethelbert acted unilaterally, violating governance norms and conflict-of-interest rules.

Shtykalo indicated documentation provided by the municipality showed several instances of improper governance by the person in question, most of which involved circumventing the policies and procedures of the municipality and The Municipal Act.

The report included three examples:

• The former head of council purchased a vehicle through an online auction from Alberta, then travelled there to pick it up. The individual was reimbursed for their travel without any knowledge or approval of council.
• When the municipality offered surplus property for tender, the former head of council’s son was one of the bidders. Conflict of interest rules would require that the former head of council excuse himself from all discussions and council decisions of the sale. The former head of council refused to excuse himself from the discussion. Ultimately, the property was sold to his son.
• The former head of council ordered water and sewer lines for a project on his own instead of involving Public Works. He ordered the wrong size lines, resulting in an expense of several thousand dollars.

In another investigation, allegations that the Municipality of Swan Valley West purchased fire trucks without tendering, violating the municipality’s purchasing policy, were examined.

Shtykalo concluded the allegations were partially confirmed as two of the three fire trucks were not purchased in accordance with the Municipality’s purchasing policy. Additionally, one of the fire trucks was purchased without a council resolution until several months after the purchase.

The main focus of the report, requested by the Minister of Finance under Section 16 of The Auditor General Act, a cybersecurity incident involving the Municipality of Westlake-Gladstone.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

Donna Davidson and Shelley Love shot a 75 to win the championship flight at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy Ladies Open Two-person Scramble, Saturday, at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club.

Three shots behind the winning duo was the team of Lane Prokopowich and Linda Kitching, while Marilyn Schwitzer and Pearl Maksymetz were third after shooting an 82.

Ally Warkentin and Kayla Hagenson were fourth after carding an 83 and Colleen Johnson and Verna Vanrobaeys shot an 86 to finish fifth.

Deannie Boraskavich and Noella Kilimnik won the first flight on a countback over Barb Hrehirchuk and Lori Mathieson after both teams finished with a 90.

In third place were Melissa MacQuarrie and Nadine Soloway, while fourth place went to Jill Watt and Lois Bednarski on a countback after they tied with Karen Todorian and Morgan Kropelnicki with a 92.

A 95 put Donna Campbell and Marie Sawyer in first place in the second flight, one shot ahead of runners-up Colette Robinson and Terri Rampton.

In third place, with a 97, were Amber Tarrant and Beth Tarrant and in fourth place, with a 99, were Evelyn Beyette and Jean Geiser. Eleanor Snitka and Tesse Memme were fifth with an even 100.

The Canadian Red Cross response to 2025 wildfires is the largest  operation in the organization’s recent history.

Since May, the Red Cross has been providing humanitarian assistance to people impacted by wildfires across the country with operations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada, surpassing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s wildfire response includes operating a mega-congregate shelter with capacity for more than 3,000 people, deploying 1,200 personnel, registering 52,000 people, securing 815 flights for 10,000 people, and securing 200,000 hotel nights.

Data collected from this year’s wildfire season reveals a new threshold for both the size and complexity of response operations in Canada, and it is critical to prepare for future events, the organization said in a press release.

The Red Cross recommends the need for:

• strengthened capacity to respond to all-hazard events in Canada;
• a permanent investment in a civilian operational response capacity such as that of the Red Cross Humanitarian Workforce; and
• enhanced co-ordination across government and whole-of-society response actors.

This year’s rise in response operations demonstrates a year-over-year trend in rising emergencies across Canada.

Continued investments in pan-Canadian civilian response capacity, such as those made possible through the Government of Canada’s humanitarian workforce program, are critical to maintaining the response capacity needed to respond to rising events and must be maintained.

“We have reached a critical tipping point this response season, with more than 1,200 Red Cross personnel deployed to support fire operations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. This represents the largest volume of domestic response operations in our modern history, with needs continuing to rise,” said Conrad Sauvé, Canadian Red Cross president and CEO.

“We continue to surge our response with specialized expertise to meet rising demands. Continued investment in our Civilian Response capacity is critical as we can no longer treat these events as exceptional.”

Quick facts

During the wildfire response, the Red Cross:

• deployed 1,200 personnel to support response operations –including 630 volunteer deployments contributing more than 88,000 volunteer hours;
• secured 815 flights carrying more than 10,000 passengers requiring evacuation from their communities;
• operated 45 reception sites across four provinces; and
• operated 11 congregate shelters, including a mega-shelter with capacity for more than 3,000 people in Winnipeg.